2014 "Topping the Texas Grill" Recipe: Peaches

ToppingTheTXGrill14_Peach_520X320

Matthew Zoch, pastry chef at Prego Italian Restaurant in Houston, whips up a grill-topping dessert with some of Texas’ best summertime offerings—peaches and pecans.

Buttermilk Shortcake with Grilled Peach Compote and Candied Pecans

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 stick plus 1 tablespoon butter, cold

5 tablespoons sugar, divided

1 ½ cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup butter milk

1 egg

1/2 cup pecans

1 teaspoon water

1 tablespoon honey

6 peaches

1/4 cup turbinado sugar

1 vanilla bean

1/2 cup peach schnapps

Vanilla gelato (or ice cream)

Preheat oven to 375 F. Preheat grill to high.

For the shortcake: In a medium mixing bowl, mix together 1 stick of cold butter, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 ½ cups flour and 1 teaspoon baking powder until it reaches a sandy texture. Add 1/4 cup butter milk and 1 egg until mixture forms a dough ball. Divide dough into 4 equal parts. Roll each into a ball and flatten into a round disks. Place on greased cookie sheet. Sprinkle turbinado sugar over each disk. Bake at 375 F for about 20 minutes until golden brown.

For the pecans, in a sauté pan combine 1/2 cup pecans, 1 teaspoon water, 3 tablespoons sugar, and 1 tablespoon honey. Place over medium heat and constantly stir until the sugar starts to turn to a light caramel color. Poor candied pecans onto an oiled sheet pan. Using gloves, pull apart the pecans so they don’t stick together. Set aside to cool.

For the peach compote, pit and slice the peaches into 8 wedges. Blend two of the peaches (16 wedges) in a blinder, strain and aside.

Did You Know?

“The New England Kitchen” (May 1894) said of the shortcake: “The true shortcake is neither bread, nor cake, nor pastry… It is a modernized form of the pandowdies of our grandmothers.”